Holding clip for lanterns



Jan. 12 1926.

Filed Dec. 20, 1923 INVENTOR Ernest M. Larkin.

WITNESSES ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 12, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ERNEST M. LABKIN, or scorn BEND, IN A. r ssrenon 'To WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC & MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A ooR-nonA'rroN OF- PENNSYLVANIA.

'H LB CLIP FOB. lamen Application filed December ;20, 1923. SerialNo. 681,747.

To all whom it may concern Be'it known that I, ERNEST M. LARKIN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of South Bend, in the county of St. Joseph and State of Indiana, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Holding Clips for Lanterns, of which the following isa specification.

My invention relates to lighting fixtures and particularly to lanterns which are usually mounted on'posts, and the side walls of which are composed ofseveral units.

In lanterns of the type above specified, it is oftencustomary to construct-that portion of the lantern-which surrounds the lamp of a plurality of panels. As theseparate panels or walls of the lantern are usually of some transparent material such as glass, it is necessary to provide some readymeans of replacing the glass in case ofbreakage. It is desirable also to so fasten-the glassthat it shall not be loose but be held in such manner that it will yield to pressure and thus avoid breakage.

It is,-therefore, anobject. of my invention to provide a. structure which shall permit the removal ofv theglass quickly andweasily.

-.A :fnrther object of my invention, is .to providev means ;for positively holding the glass but permitting it to yield topressure without being broken.

Hitherto, it has been customary to rigidly attach the glass side panels of lanterns to the frame by means of lead. This arrangement neither offered a means for quick replacement of the panels nor was the glass able to yield to pressure. Another method was to attach glass and other side panels of lanterns by means of grooves into which the glass was fitted. This arrangement permitted ready replacement of the panels but it did not permit the glass to yield to pressure and thereby avoid breakage. 1

My invention is directed to a structure employing resilient clips to hold the side panels closely against their supports, while permitting them to yield and making them easily accessible. Specifically, I provide spring-clips, each of which bears against the adjacent edges of two of the panels and clamps them against the frame members. The spring-clips may be fastened to the frame members by means of screws which project through slots in the clips. The slots head.

serve the further purpose of allowing the spring-clips to be shifted when it is desired to remove the glass.

' In the accompanying drawings, constituting a parthereof and in which like characters designate like parts,

Figure 1 is an elevational view, partly in vertical section, of my invention, as applied to a lantern;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view in cross section along the line'IIII of Fig. 1,showing my invention more indetail.

Fig. 3 is an elevational View of a single clip, showing howthe spring may beheld in alignment.

Fig.4 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing the position of the clip when in the operative position, and

Fig. 5is an elevational view of my inven- -tion,.showi ng the slotin the clip which per- .mits the clip. to be moved to the off position in order torelease the glass without removing thescrew.

The lantern, (:Fig. 1), is mounted on a post 1 and isprovided with upright supports;2 suitably fastened to the base 3 and to thetop ,4. :The side walls or panels f the lanternimaylbe :ofglass or any other suitablematerial, .andare'held in place by the spr-ingclipsG, which are, in turn, held in alignment by the tongues or up-struck members 7 and by screws 8 which are screwed into the upright supporting members 2. "When the'panels are angularly disposed as shown in the drawing, the panels themselves may hold the clips in alignment and the tongue may be omitted. The spring clips 6 are also provided with slots 9 through which the screws 8 project. The ends 10 and 11 of the clips are curved in order to provide smooth bearing surfaces 1 against the panels 5.

Each spring clip 6 is so shaped that the portion 12 where the screw'8 is normally located provides a suitable seat for the screw This seat is preferably in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the screw. The spring clip is also bent in such manner that it has the general shape of a flattened U, the sides of which may be either plane or curved surfaces. In the preferred form, a section of the spring, as cut by a plane parallel to its side edges forms the three nonparallel sides of a trapezium.

In use, the panels 5, which may be either flat or curved and may be of glass or of any other suitable transparent, translucent or opaque material, are placed in position against the upright supports 2 so that the edges lit into the recessed portions 13 thereoi he spring-clips 6 are then placed over the adjacent edges of two panels, and the screws 8 are inserted through the slots 9 and ,.32'*ewed into the upright supports 2. Any desired pressure may he brought to bear on the panels by varying the lengths oi the screws 8.

Although the clips may be prevented from showing by the angularly disposed panel members, I have own, in the preferred embodiment of my .nrcui'iou, upstruck members 7 which lit into the grooves formed by the adjacent edges of the panel members. The u struck members 7, therefore, insure the correct positioning of the spring clips 6.

l'Vhen the side panels and clips are once in place, any one of the panels may be quickly replaced without removing the screws from the clips. To do this, the clip is forced endwise so that the screw 8 is at the end 14: of the slot 0. Since the portion 15 of the spring is obliquely inclined, the spring is permitted to loosen to release the panels. All the springs may thus be released successively along the sides of the panel members. Adjacent panel members are not released because they are held by the clips on their opposite edges. The panel members may be replaced by a new one and the spring clips may be again positioned so that the heads of screws 8 rest upon the seats 12.

Although I have described a specific embodiment of my invention, I do not limit it thereto since various modifications thereof will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of my invention, the scope of which is set forth in the annexed claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a lighting fixture, a plurality of panels, retaining members therefor and means for securing said panels to said members, said means comprising resilient clips, each of said clips having an elongated slot and an up-struck portion therein in central alignment for the purpose of securing and aligning said clip.

In a lighting fixture, a plurality of panels, retaining members therefor and means for securing said panels to said mem bers, said means con'iprising resilient clips each of which has the form of three sides 01 a trapezium and is provided with a slot and an upstruck portion in central alignment for the purpose of securing and aligning said clip, a groove which receives the upstruek member, and means to secure the clip which bears approximately at the center of the clip and projects through the clip into the retaining member.

3. In a lighting fixture, a plurality of panels, retaining members therefor and means for securing said panels to said members, said means comprising resilient clips each of Which has the form of three sides of a trapezium and has an up-struck member in central alignment for the purpose of securing and aligning said clip, a groove formed by the edges of two adjacent panels which receives the Lip-struck member and means to secure the clip, one portion of which bears on the clip and another portion of which projects through the side opening and into the retaining member.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 10th day of December, 1923.

ERNEST M. LARKIN. 

